Improvement in composing-sticks



J. WILSON.

Composing-Stck.

No.130,170. y B Patent-ed Aug. 6,1872.

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UNITED STATES JAMES WILSON, OF BOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ANSON HARDY OUTTING-MACHINE WORKS.7

IMPROVEMENT IN COMPOSlNG-STICKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,170, dated August6, 1872.

Specification of certain new and useful Improvements in PrintersComposing-Stioks, invented by JAMES WILSON, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts.

The first part of my invention relates to the manner of securing themovable jaw to the back of the stick in any desired position; and itconsists in the use of a cam-lever made of a round piece of steel bentin the form of a letter L, the outer side of' the short armbeingflattened and the inner side toward the long;`

arm remaining round and fitted to a semicircular recess formedvertically across the back of said jaw, in which saidshort arm may bemade to lrotate by moving` the long` arm to the right or left. Thesecond part ofl my invention is intended to make the stick morecomfortable to the hand, and also to serve as a rest when the stick islaid down upon a fiat surface 5 and it consists in the formation uponthe under side of the bottom plate, upon the edge opposite to the back,of a rib projecting downward from said bottom plate, as will behereinafter described.

Figure l of the drawing is an elevation of my improved stick. Fig. 2 isa plan with a portion of' the clasp broken away. Fig. 3 is a transversesection on line x a: on Figs. 1 and 2; and Figs. et and 5 are,respectively, a plan of the under side and an elevation oftheclamping-lever drawn twice its natural size.

A is the bottom plate of the stick; B, the back-the bottom and backbeing formed from one piece of metal. C is the xed jaw, riveted to theback and bottom, all ina well-known manner. D is the movable jaw fittedto slide on the back B by means of the clasp E, which is secured byscrews or rivets to the upper side of the jaw D,'and is bent around theback and under the bottom, as shown in Fig. 3. F is a lever having ashort arm, a, projecting at right angles thereto at one end, said shortarm a being made round, except that its outer side is slightly fiattenedand is fitted to a semicircular recess formed in the movable jawvertical- `1y across the side next to the back, and is held in its placeby the clasp E, arecess beingformed in the upper side of the jaw D toallowr of' the passage of the lever F below the under side of' the claspE.- When the lever F is placed at right angles to the back the attenedside of the arm a is parallel to the inner face of the back, and doesnot press against it; but when the lever F is moved to the right as faras it can go the arm a is rotated so that its greatest or full diameteris brought at right angles to theback, and, pressing it hard vagainstthe clasp E, securely fastens the jaw D to the back B. H is the picascale, by which the jaw D may readily be set at any number of picas fromthe jaw C. I is a rib ot' metaLsecured to the under side ofthe bottomplate, at the edge opposite to the back, for the purpose of raising thatedge of the stick when it is laid upon a level surface, so that the typewill incline toward the back, and thereby be prevented from fallingover. The rib I may be made solid and riveted to the bottom, as shown;or it may be made hollow, to reduce the weight, and be secured in thesame manner 5 or it may be formed from the same sheet of metal as theAbottom by cutting it somewhat wider and bending it intothe desiredform. The thickening of the edge of' the bottom of the stick by theaddition of this rib with its rounded corners makes the stick much morecomfortable to the hand than the thin edge of the old stick.

What `I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is

l. The clamping-lever F, constructed as herein set forth, in combinationwith the jaw D, clasp E, and the back of' a stick, substantially asdescribed.

2. The rib I or its equivalent, formed on or secured to the under sideof' the stick, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

Executed at Boston this 13th day of February, 1872.

JAMES WILSON.

Witnesses:

N. C. LOMBARD, FRANK K. ROGERS.

